Well, it was all pretty simple. Jessica Pegula had spent three and a half years looking for a route beyond the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam.
He had failed six times. He had faced questions about his worth and his game. He had even wondered if his time at that level had already passed.
On Wednesday night, Pegula finally ventured into uncharted waters. The irony? After all her struggles and all those doubts, she hardly needed to break a sweat.
Much of this was down to world number one Iga Swiatek, who was generous on Arthur Ashe Stadium. On her way to a 6-2, 6-4 victory, Pegula won 65 points. Forty-one of them came from unforced errors by Swiatek.
Pegula won’t mind one bit. She’s done her job and is now one match away from her first Grand Slam final. The omens couldn’t be more encouraging.
The three previous times she defeated the Polish world number one, Pegula won the tournament. Next up? Karolina Muchova.
The No. 6 seed admitted she couldn’t predict how she would feel heading into this seventh Grand Slam quarter-final. She would only know, she said, when the first match began. Well, the American was met with a rather telling response.
Prior to this, Swiatek had lost her serve just twice in the entire tournament. She had conceded just four break points on her way to the quarterfinals, and none in her last three matches.
Pegula ended that streak immediately. She forced a break point and then moved ahead on a double fault from Swiatek. The American saved a chance to get back to break before losing the match. Another break point. Another double fault from Swiatek. And suddenly, Pegula was hurtling toward the last four.
Swiatek managed to steady the ship enough to win a couple of games, but the first set was decided in just 36 minutes. The world number one was threatening to take the train home before thousands of fans had taken their seats at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.
She had to find a way, any way, to keep Pegula from leaving her sight. So Swiatek left the court to take a break and change clothes. It worked: Swiatek kept control of the second set, but only for a brief time. Pegula equalized and then forced three more break points.
Swiatek saved a point, but then handed Pegula the initiative with her 25th unforced error in just 11 games. The world number one wasn’t quite settled yet – she broke back straight away. Alas, it was just a stay of execution. Pegula broke her serve to go 4-3 up before closing out the match. There were nerves, of course there were, as she served at 5-4. She needed three match points to finally book her place in the top four. Curse? What curse?
